In arthroplasty and some sports medicine surgeries, a damaged joint, such as a knee joint, is replaced with prosthetic implants. Prior to implantation of the implant, the damaged region of the joint is typically prepared by resecting or otherwise treating regions of the bones to provide surfaces that can align with and therefore accommodate the implant.
One of the predictors of an orthopedic arthroplasty outcome is appropriate selection and positioning of the prosthetic components. During orthopedic procedures, various tools and instruments are used to assist with prosthetic component selection and placement, including the use of templates as well as provisional or trial implant prosthetics. Such conventional tools and instruments may lack precision as they may rely on the user's judgment to assess proper positioning of the devices. In addition, each patient's anatomy being different, proper component sizing may be required for optimizing the outcome of the surgery. Still, conventional components may only allow patient customization to a certain degree.